Former Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputy arrests San Jose man driving stolen car after he flees from police

SANTA CRUZ - A 41-year-old San Jose man with a stolen car was arrested Thursday after he led police on a chase.

Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies spotted the man driving erratically in a green, four-door Toyota Camry about 11:30 a.m. on Soquel Drive, said deputy April Skalland. Authorities tried to stop the man, but he drove to northbound Highway 1. A woman was in the passenger seat.

Caught in construction traffic near the old La Fonda Avenue overpass, the man ditched the car and ran through the construction area to Oak Way, Skalland said.

He eventually fled to Prospect Heights, where former sheriff's deputy Kim Allyn was outside his home. Allyn had just seen several patrol cars drive by when a man walked up to him and asked for a cigarette.

He realized the man was the suspect, pinned him against a truck and called 911. Allyn's friend helped detain the man before deputies arrived. Jack Leonard Perkins was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, evading an officer and driving with a suspended license with a prior prison term, Skalland said. The Toyota was reported stolen from San Jose.

Perkins is being held in County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to jail records. Santa Cruz police also responded to the call.